Tsatevich nabs Catalunya finale as Quintana seals GC

Katusha's Alexey Tsatevich holds on to take the Volta a Catalunya's seventh stage from the breakaway as Nairo Quntana wraps up the overall

BARCELONA (AFP) — Movistar’s Nairo Quintana won the Tour of Catalonia on Sunday with the seventh and final stage — a 136km circuit around Barcelona’s Montjüic area, the site of the 1992 Olympic Games — going to Katusha’s Alexey Tsatevich.

Quintana took the lead in what is Spain’s oldest stage race at the end of the fourth stage at Port Ainé and he never appeared in danger of losing his jersey on Sunday despite eight climbs of the Alt de Montjüic.

Top 10, stage 7

1. Aleksei TCATEVICH, TEAM KATUSHA, in 3:13:33

2. Primož ROGLIC, TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO, at :00

3. Jarlinson PANTANO GOMEZ, IAM CYCLING, at :14

4. Wouter POELS, TEAM SKY, at :14

5. Daryl IMPEY, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at :14

6. Rigoberto URAN URAN, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM, at :14

7. Rudy MOLARD, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at :14

8. Romain BARDET, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :14

9. Enrico GASPAROTTO, WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT, at :14

10. Carlos BARBERO CUESTA, CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA, at :14

Top 10 overall

1. Nairo Alexander QUINTANA ROJAS, MOVISTAR TEAM, in 30:50:19

2. Alberto CONTADOR VELASCO, TINKOFF, at :07

3. Daniel MARTIN, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :17

4. Richie PORTE, BMC RACING TEAM, at :17

5. Tejay VAN GARDEREN, BMC RACING TEAM, at :27

6. Romain BARDET, AG2R LA MONDIALE, at :31

7. Ilnur ZAKARIN, TEAM KATUSHA, at :42

8. Christopher FROOME, TEAM SKY, at :46

9. Hugh CARTHY, CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA, at 1:01

10. Rigoberto URAN URAN, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 1:16

Chris Froome (Sky), Alberto Contador (Tinkoff), and Joaquím Rodríguez (Katusha) were among those attempting to jump clear of the GC favorites as the pack made several trips up and over the Montjüic. Rodríguez spent a short time in a trio with 40 seconds advantage over the rest of the GC hopefuls, but he and the rest of the overall contenders were ultimately reeled in.

Tsatevich took stage 7 from the early breakaway. The Russian managed to stay clear with Primoz Roglic of LottoNL – Jumbo on the lumpy finishing circuit despite plenty of action in the peloton behind. Tsatevich then triumphed in the two-man sprint, nearly celebrating his victory too early before thinking better of it and putting in the winning push at the line.

IAM Cycling’s Jarlinson Pantano was first across the line in the peloton, taking third on the day.

“During this week I was so close to a podium place,” said Tsatevich, who notched four other top 10 stage placings in the seven-day race. “I really wanted to get a good result, because I felt I am strong. I just missed something. Today I was super motivated. I knew my wife Christina would come to the finish for the first time to see me in a WorldTour race, so I wanted to give a nice present to her.

“The entire day I felt good in the break – I did not follow every attack, I just stayed calm and tried to save my energy for the final laps. This tactic worked well, so with two laps to go I saw my chance to attack and I went away with a LottoNL-Jumbo rider. But at the same time I knew Joaquim Rodriguez was 20 seconds behind and I was ready to help him in case he joined us. In the final, I gave my best on the climb and in the sprint.”

Quintana won the general classification seven seconds ahead of Contador, with Dan Martin (Etixx) claiming the last step on the podium, 17 seconds down. The Irishman secured third place on the final stage by taking a single bonus second at an intermediate sprint. That knocked BMC’s Richie Porte down to fourth, one spot ahead of teammate Tejay van Garderen.

“There’s a lot of emotion to have been able to beat my rivals. It gives me confidence that we are working well,” said Quintana, racing for the first time in Europe this season.

However, he was careful not to draw too many conclusions from the result despite beating the likes of Chris Froome (Sky) and several other Tour de France hopefuls, adding: “I won the Tour of Catalonia by seven seconds, which isn’t very much.”

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Antonio Pesenti reaches the summit of the Col du Galibier during the 1931 Tour de France in this photography courtesy of VeloPress from Goggles and Dust: Images from Cycling's Glory Days from The Horton Collection. Buy this book